A new project will enhance downtown Foley by installing halo lighting on several trees along East Laurel Avenue and South Alston Street.

The plan involves outfitting six trees in front of the City Hall complex on East Laurel Avenue with halo lighting, while additional trees on South Alston Street, starting near Orange Avenue, will also receive the new illumination.

"We're doing halo lighting on our old oak trees on Alston Street that will add ambient lighting. With the new businesses coming into that area, it's going to be something nice that will really feature downtown," Mayor Ralph Hellmich said. "Those giant oak trees in front of City Hall, all through there, we're going to halo light those. We're going to continue doing these small projects around downtown."

The lights, mounted in the tree branches and directed toward the ground, are designed to be less prone to vandalism compared to ground fixtures, Hellmich noted.

Jeff Phillips, the city's construction project manager, said each tree will feature three rings of lights, each ring containing three lights, similar to the system used in Pine Street Park.

The initial phase of Foley's downtown lighting project will involve installing conduit from City Hall to the trees in front of the complex.

In the project's second phase, scheduled for the 2025 fiscal year, additional lights will be installed on trees in front of Riviera Utilities and the Foley Public Library adjacent to City Hall.

On South Alston Street, lighting installation will start near Orange Avenue, with the second phase extending the work to Myrtle Avenue and Verbena Avenue.